Collapsible tube or container



Aug. 21, 1934. R. w. SHERMAN COLLAPSIBLE TUBE 0R CONTAINER Filed Feb. 10, 1933 ATTORN EY5 Patented Aug. 21, 1934 UNITED STATES PATENT orricr COLLAPSIBLE TUBE 0R CONTAINER Ray W. Sherman, Flushing, N. Y.

Application February 10, 1933, Serial No. 656,053

7 Claims.

This invention relates to collapsible tubes or containers of the type usually used for holding pastes or creams and which are provided with a reduced neck portion through which the contents of the tube is discharged.

More particularly the invention relates to an improved form of construction of the reduced neck portion, of such type of tube and the cap or closure therefor.

The collapsible tubes or containers now ordinarily in use are formed with a short'reduced screw threaded neck portion which is covered by a screw threaded cap. In using this style of tube, it is sometimes difficult to properly replace the cap on the reduced neck portion. This is due to the difficulty encountered in positioning the cap so that the screw threads thereof will properly engage with the threads of the reduced neck portion. By reason of this, the users of such types of tube will oftentimes force the "cap on the neck in a manner that will cause an improper closure to be made or will leave the cap oif the neck entirely and the contents of the tube will harden at the opening in the neck and prevent the proper discharge of the same when it is desired to use the contents of the tube at a future time.

It is the object of the present invention to provide a neck and closure cap construction for a tube or container, of the type above referred to, which will permit the closure cap to be easily and accurately secured in place with respect to the neck portion so that a proper closure is always effected, and which will also permit a quick removal of the cap when it is desired to discharge a portion of the contents of the tube.

Other features of the invention will be apparent from the following description and will be pointed out in the appended claims.

Referring to the drawing- Figure 1 is a view in elevation of a tube embodying the features of my invention;

Fig. 2 is a sectional view of the upper portion of the tube with the cap or closure in position;

Fig. 3 is a top plan view of the cap or closure;

Fig. 4 is a sectional view of the cap or closure;

Fig. 5 is a bottom plan view of the cap or closure;

Fig. 6 is a perspective view in elevation of a modified form of construction of the cap portion of the tube;

Fig. '7 is a sectional view of the cap shown in Fig. 6.

In the drawing the tube is represented at 1 and is shown as formed, at its upper end, with a reduced neck portion 2. The reduced neck portion is provided at its lower end with an enlarged part 3 having tapered sides and an exteriorly threaded base 4. It will 'be noted that-the reduced neck portion 2 is made of a greater length than in the usual type of callapsible tubes. The purpose of this elongated neck will be pointed out more fully hereinafter.

The construction of the cap or closure for the tube is clearly shown in Figures 3, 4 and 5 and consists of a closed tubular portion 5 which is of approximately the same length as the reduced neck portion 2. The tubular portion 5 is made so that it will have a close sliding fit over the reduced neck portion. The cap is also formed with a skirt portion 6 which is adapted to have a sliding fit over the enlarged part 3 and threaded base 4 of the reduced neck. The base portion 7 of the skirt is provided with threads 8 formed on the interior face thereof. Said threads are adapted to engage with the screw threads of the base 4 of the reduced neck portion of the tube.

The skirt portion of the cap is formed with a plurality of slits 9 therein. These slits provide the skirt with suilicient resiliency so that it will have an outwardly yielding action when the cap is pushed downwardly into its intended position with respect to the threaded base portion of the neck. The resilient yielding property given the skirt by reason of the slits 9, thus enables the threaded portion thereof to be slipped over the threads of the base 4 of the neck when the cap is being applied to the said neck and when the cap is in its proper closing position the skirt will con- Y tract sufficiently so that the screw threads thereof will engage and lock with the screw threads of the base 4 and thus hold the cap securely in place.

When it is desired to take the cap off the tube, it is removed in the usual manner by simply unscrewing it from the base 4.

The elongated construction of the reduced neck portion of the tube provides an eificient guide for the cap as it is being applied to the tube and enables the cap to be accurately positioned and guided so that the threaded portion of the skirt can be more readily slipped over the threads of the base 4 of the reduced neck.

In Figures 6 and '1, I have shown a slight modification in the form of construction of the cap. In this form of construction the lower portion 10 of the skirt is provided with a groove or depression 11 in the outer face thereof. A- split resilient ring 12 made of any suitable material is adapted to be sprung over the base portion of the skirt and to be retained in said groove. In this form of construction of the cap the ring 12 enhances the resilient springy action of the skirt and insures that the said skirt is securely held in place with respect to the screw threads on the base 4 of the reduced neck portion after the cap has been positioned with respect to the neck in the manner above described.

From the foregoing description it will be seen that there has been provided a tube construction which has a neck and a closure therefor which will enable an effective closing of the tube without danger that the proper screwing action of the cap will be interfered with because of an improper registration of the screw threads of the cap and neck.

The slotted feature of the skirt, in addition to providing a resiliency thereto, also makes it possible to pry outwardly the ends of the segments of the skirt and thus loosen the screw threads thereof from engagement with the screw threads on the base 4 of the reduced neck portion, in case the threads of the cap and the neck become locked together because of long non-use of the tube.

Also the peculiar elongated construction of the reduced neck portion of the tube with the screw threads located at the base thereof, provides an efiicient means of guiding the cap when it is being applied to the tube so that it will maintain a vertical position and thus insure that the screw threads of the skirt will properly slip over the threads at the base of the neck.

While my invention has been shown and described as applicable to a tube of the collapsible type it is readily apparent that the novel features thereof are applicable also 'to other types of tubes or containers where the contentsthereof are intended to be discharged through a reduced neck portion and a removable cap or closure is employed to retain the contents in the tube.

What I seek to secure by United States Letters Patent is: V

1. A collapsible metallic tube having a reduced neck portion formed with an enlarged cylindrical shaped screw threaded base, and a cap for said reduced neck portion comprising a tubular portion adapted to fit over the reduced neck and a skirt formed with a slotted radially resilient interiorly threaded wall adapted to yieldingly fit over said enlarged base and make threaded engagement therewith.

2. A collapsible metallic tube having an elongated reduced neck portion formed with a cylindrical shaped screw threaded base, and a cap for said reduced neck portion comprising a closed tubular portion adapted to have a sliding fit over the reduced neck portion and a skirt formed with a slotted radially resilient interiorly threaded wall having a yielding sliding fit over said screw threaded base of the neck portion and adapted to make threaded engagement with said base.

3. A collapsible metallic tube having an elongated reduced neck portion extending from an enlarged cylindrical and conically shaped screw threaded base, and a cap for said reduced neck portion comprising a closed tubular portion adapted to have a sliding fit over the elongated reduced neck and a slotted interiorly threaded skirt adapted to yieldingly slide over and fit said enlarged cylindrical screw threaded base and make threaded engagement therewith.

4. A collapsible tube having an elongated reduced tubular neck extending from an enlarged cylindrical shaped screw threaded base, and a cap for closing said neck comprising a closed tubular portion formed so as to have a sliding fit 86 over the elongated reduced tubular neck and a slotted radially resilient interiorly threaded skirt adapted to have a yieldingly sliding fit over the base of said neck and to make threaded engagement therewith, and means for yieldingly main 90 taining said skirt in threaded engagement with said base.

5. A collapsible tube having an elongated reduced tubular neck extending from an enlarged cylindrical shaped screw threaded base, and a cap; adapted to close said neck comprising a closed tu-. bular portion formed so as to have a sliding fit over said elongated reduced tubular neck and a slotted interiorly threaded skirt formed so as to have a yielding fit over said screw threaded base and to make a yielding threaded engagement therewith, a split resilient ring adapted to be fitted around said skirt to maintain its threaded engagement with said base.

6. In a collapsible metallic tube, a neck formed with an elongated tubular portion extending upwardly from an enlarged cylindrical shaped screw threaded base, a cap adapted to be fitted over said neck comprising a tubular portion formed so as to have a sliding fit over the elongated tubular portion of the neck, an interiorly threaded skirt portion formed so as to fit over the base portion of said neck and so as to make threaded engagement with the screw threads of said base, slits formed in said skirt to provide an outwardly radial yielding action to the same when it is being fitted over the base of said neck so that the screw threads thereof will slide 'over the threads of the base while the cap is being positioned with respectto said neck.

7. In a collapsible metallic tube, a neck formed with an elongated tubular portion extending upwardly from an enlarged cylindrical shaped screw threaded base, a cap adapted to be fitted over said neck comprising a tubular portion formed so as to have a sliding fit over the elongated tubular portion of the neck, an interiorly threaded skirt portion formed so as to fit over the base portion of said neck and so as to make threaded engagement with the screw threads of said base, slits formed in said skirt to provide an outwardly radial yielding action to the same when the same is being fitted over the base of said neck so that the screw threads thereof will slide over the threads of the base while the cap is being positioned with respect to said neck and means to yieldingly maintain said skirt in thread engaging position with said base after said cap has been positioned. 

